AN: All thanks to Katherine my beta
Her first morning home, Mia woke up early and headed downstairs to start breakfast, her message book in hand. It had been humming quietly when she woke up, and she planned to read and reply to Gabe while she cooked. To her surprise Sirius was up and dressed, sitting at the kitchen table writing a letter.
"To Harry?" she asked.
"Yes, he had a rough night." Sirius looked up at her and the somber look on his face melted away to a smile. "I've missed having you around, kid." He held out an arm, slowly, as if not sure of the movement, and Mia responded, accepting the tight hug.
After their small moment of intimacy, Sirius went back to writing his letter, and Mia started chopping potatoes. The scratches of Sirius' quill died, and Mia looked over to see him deep in thought, staring out the kitchen window. He turned to Mia and a small spark of laughter lit his eyes when he saw her watching him.
"I don't suppose you would be up for another small project in addition to helping Moony?"
The new moon had been two nights ago, so now the two week process of nightly transformation, and meditation coaching was in effect. Last night he hadn't wanted Mia to stay up, it being her first night home, but tonight she wouldn't let him argue his way out of it. Sirius had not been a great teacher for him. When they got together, they acted too much like themselves at fourteen. She had been successful in coaching Gabe, and she hoped she could do the same for him. He had decades of experience turning into a werewolf, and two months of transforming into a true wolf. She would help him do this before summer was over. She smiled at Sirius. "You know me and projects, I'm game for anything. What did you have in mind?"
Sirius smiled sadly. "Do you think you would be up for brewing the dreamless sleep potion for Harry? He's not sleeping well, and I have a feeling it will only get worse now he's away from Hogwarts. I don't want him taking it every night, but a good night's sleep can go a long way towards healing. I should know." He smiled again at Mia for this last point. The potion she'd made for him had let him sleep soundly, and months of good nights later, he really was healthier. Most nights he didn't even take the potion anymore.
"Yeah, I have the recipe in a book upstairs. I may have to go to Diagon Alley. Maybe Gabe will join me," she said thinking aloud.
Sirius sighed dramatically. "Is that boy going to be hanging around all summer again?" he asked in a pained tone.
Mia smiled and opened her message book. "Yes, if I have anything to do with it, he will be." She read Gabe's message.
Alright, I spent the whole evening talking to my mom and dad about whatever they wanted just to prove I'm not wholly obsessed with you. Now that's over, when do you want to hang out?
Mia looked back at Sirius. "Do you really have a problem with Gabe being over all the time?"
Sirius chuckled. "I'm your father. It's my job to have threatening vocal objections to any boy in your life. Let me have it." He smiled and shrugged. "But Gabe's a good kid. I like him."
"I do too."
Mia scribbled a quick reply in their message book: Breakfast? And then Diagon Alley for potions ingredients? And then closed the book and got back to cooking. Gabe arrived just as Sirius was handing his letter off to Hedwig for Harry. They made a very intentional effort not to kiss or be too affectionate in front of Sirius. Whether he liked Gabe or not, Mia didn't want to give him too much ammunition to express his fatherly duties.
They had a wonderful afternoon in Diagon Alley, just being together without any pressure or expectations around them. Holding hands was a lot more enjoyable when you didn't have a school full of students and professors around you with their own opinions on the subject.
They talked about Gabe's family. From the way they talked about the events of the third task, and hinted at recent communications with Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore, Gabe suspected his parents and older brother were in the Order. It was clear, when Sirius and Remus avoided it in letters, and changed the subject the night before at dinner, the Order was being reformed, and Gabe and Mia wanted to be a part.
After lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, and ice cream at Florean Fortescue's, they bought everything they needed for the dreamless sleep potion, and for the veritaserum Gabe wanted Mia to use on him, then they went back to Mia's for dinner. Tonks joined them. She shared a small sly smile with Mia as she and Remus left for a walk around the village after dinner. Sirius told her later things seemed to have shifted between them. Tonks had been by almost every night since the third task, depending on her shift at work, and Remus no longer opposed their relationship.
Meditation and transformation practice the next few nights with Remus went well. Apparently not being teased and yelled at, he had a much easier time focusing. Mia used the same methods she had used with Gabe when teaching him, and together Remus was able to transform whole limbs into wolf form by the end of the week. Now that he was showing real progress in transforming, Alec sat in several nights to observe, and learn more about the transformation process.
The veritaserum took a week to brew. When it was ready, she asked Gabe again if he was really sure he wanted to try it. Gabe insisted. As he explained, occlumency was the same skill that could protect a mind from a legilimens, as well as from the Imperius curse, and the effects of veritaserum. As Mia didn't know legilimency, and wasn't going to perform an unforgivable curse, veritaserum was Gabe's best hope at practice.
When the potion was ready, Gabe sat in Mia's desk chair in her library.
"Should you tie me up?" he asked.
"What for?"
"I dunno, it would make it feel more like a proper interrogation."
Mia laughed and grabbed the twine she used for hanging up herbs. If Gabe wanted to be dramatic about it all, she would oblige. When he was securely tied to the chair, she gave him a few drops of potion on his tongue. Gabe's face grew relaxed and his eyes unfocused. Then he seemed to shake himself and his gaze sharpened, muttering to himself. "Clear your mind, no emotions."
"Ok, let's see if it's working. What's your favorite color?" Gabe's face got tight and tense and he clamped his lips together. His eyebrows scrunched together like he was in pain and sweat broke out on his forehead. He was breathing heavy, and Mia was worried at first she'd messed up the potion. Then at last he forced out a word.
"Orange! My favorite color is orange!" He gasped for air, a relieved happy smile on his face.
Mia frowned. "No, it's not. That was a lie, right?"
Gabe smiled, his eyes unfocused and relaxed again. "Yeah! It was a lie! I did it! I resisted telling the truth! Oh Mia, I did it! My favorite color is blue. Blue like your eyes, your wonderful eyes, like two lipid pools of clear fresh water. Like a mountain lake, frosted over with ice and snow in the middle of a stunning forest. I could gaze into your eyes for hours if you'd let me, but whenever I try you always give me a funny look but then I kiss your nose and you smile. God your smile is amazing. It lights up my chest like I've been hit with a stunning spell, and I just want to burst!"
Mia stopped laughing long enough to put her hand over Gabe's mouth. He kept talking into her hand for another twenty seconds before he finally stopped. "Gabe, you're trying not to tell me the truth, remember?"
Gabe started talking again, and then he nodded, and his eyebrows wrinkled up in focus again as his eye sharpened. Mia couldn't help it; he was so cute. She kissed him in between his wrinkled eyebrows. Then on his nose. Then she moved her hand and kissed his lips.
A short time later she moved away from his chair and cleared her throat. "Ok! Next question."
"What the bloody hell are you two doing in here?"
Mia jumped and turned to see Sirius standing in the doorway. Mia looked at Gabe, tied to the chair, his cheeks blushed in his dark face, and then looked back at her dad, her own cheeks burning.
"Moony! I need you up here!" Sirius yelled down the hallway.
Mia rolled her eyes. "Relax. I'm helping Gabe with his occlumency skills."
Sirius screwed up his face. "That's not a metaphor for anything is it?"
Mia sighed. "No, I gave him truth serum and now he's trying to resist it."
Sirius's face went blank. And then slowly, very slowly a grin broke over his face. "Oh, I can help with that."
"Uh oh."
Sirius took two big steps into the room and Mia moved to block him. "No! Dad! You aren't allowed to interrogate my boyfriend!"
He kept going and Mia shoved against him, trying to force him out of the room. Sirius chuckled and kept trying to push his way past. For a man who'd been skin and bone a year ago, he really was stronger now.
"Why not? You're the one who tied him to a chair and gave him the potion! Am I really at fault for asking him a few simple questions? Hey Gabe!" Mia tried to cover his mouth with her hand, and he pinned first one of her arms, then the other behind her back. "Gabe, have you ever touched my daughter in a way I would not approve of?" Sirius asked.
"Dad!" Sirius let her arms go, and she resumed trying to push him out, he laughed and fought her off easily.
"That's quite impressive actually," Remus said from the door.
Mia looked over her shoulder. Gabe's eyes were sharp, and pained, his face screwed up like someone had just punched him in the stomach, but his lips were closed tight.
"Really Sirius," Remus said lightly. "Do you really want to know what the kids get up to?"
Sirius grimaced at the thought and left the room without a word.
Remus chuckled and turned back to Gabe. "Try telling something that's true, but just not the truth you want to give. It should make it a bit easier."
Gabe closed his eyes. "Yes, I hold her hand all the time, and he doesn't approve of that one bit." Gabe said, and then his face relaxed. "That really is easier. You really are a fantastic teacher, Remus. DADA really isn't the same without you. I mean don't get me wrong, I enjoyed being taught by a real live Auror, but he wasn't really an Auror was he? Who knows what we will get next year, maybe a vampire or a pink dotted frog."
Remus shook his head, laughing softly. "Very nice Gabe, but I think your next challenge needs to be not saying everything that comes to mind. Blocking a legitimist, or resisting a truth serum are only so valuable a skill if anyone can tell you're blocking them by the look on your face, or how you blather on." Remus left, a smile on his face.
"Thanks Remus!" Gabe called after him. "Really is a great guy, our werewolf."
Mia laughed and shook her head at her boyfriend. "Do you want another question, or should we stop for the day?"
AN: A nice fluffy chapter before we get back to reality. I hope your week is going wonderful.